The Father
by mycookiegirl
Summary: Who was that man that was always watching Ponyboy? They'd only met once right? Ponyboy never knew how much he was wanted - especially by a person he didn't know.
1. Prologue

**I do not own The Outsiders. S.E. Hinton does :)**

 _"_ _Excuse me, are you alright, sir?"_

 _27-year-old Frank Howard looked up, and was greeted with the face of a beautiful woman. She was blonde – like his wife. In her arms she held a baby that couldn't even be a year old yet._

 _"_ _I'm fine thank you, ma'am. Would you like to sit down?"_

 _The woman did so, holding her baby close to her as she smiled at the man in-front of her. "What's your name?"_

 _"_ _Frank," the man replied quickly. "And you?"_

 _"_ _Shannon," the woman replied. "And this here, is my little Ponyboy."_

 _"_ _Ponyboy," Frank repeated just to be sure. Shannon nodded, smiling; she was real proud to say that Ponyboy was hers; he was perfect._

 _"_ _Ponyboy Curtis," she said. "Named by his father: Darrel Curtis." The woman chuckled._

 _"_ _Ponyboy's a lovely name," Frank commented, smiling at the gurgling baby boy. "For a lovely boy."_

 _The two adults sat at the bus station for a while, and got onto the discussion of work. Shannon learnt that Frank taught at an elementary school up in Vinita, however he was hoping to move to Tulsa and get a job somewhere in the city. This led onto Shannon talking about her oldest son, Darry, starting school, which turned into a conversation about her family._

 _"_ _What about your family?" Shannon asked politely, wiping Ponyboy's mouth with a cloth. "You've heard all about mine. What about yours?"_

 _"_ _Well…" Frank swallowed, pushing his blonde hair back. "Ma…ma wife and boys were both killed in a car crash. I was there too – but 'lucky' me; I was spared."_

 _Shannon blinked twice, staring at the man for any hint that he was joking. But she saw how guilty he looked, and felt sympathy for the man; she wouldn't know what to do if her family were killed in an auto wreck._

 _"_ _I'm sorry," she sighed, holding Ponyboy closer to her body._

 _"_ _Two boys: one ten, and my baby – he was one. They were dead as soon as the damned truck hit us. My wife, Jenny, died in hospital. But not me…everyone but me!"_

 _"_ _There might be a reason why God decided to keep you alive," Shannon suggested lightly, patting Ponyboy's back gently. "How um…long has it been?"_

 _"_ _Almost a year," Frank responded, gazing at Ponyboy. The kid was just so cute._

 _Shannon nodded. "They wouldn't want you grieving about them, Frank. Maybe a year's enough…they'll want you to move on. Think of it this way: Jenny and your little boys are safe now. Nobody can hurt them," the woman explained, smiling._

 _Frank grinned and chuckled, still gazing at Ponyboy._

 _"_ _Ponyboy, why don't you say hello?" Shannon smiled, turning Ponyboy away from her chest so he could face Frank._

 _"_ _Hello, Ponyboy," Frank greeted, bowing his head and holding his hand out to the baby._

 _Ponyboy gurgled, reaching his little hand out and grasping onto one of Frank's fingers. The baby stared into Frank's gray eyes for a moment, and then giggled. The man smiled._

 _He hadn't felt this way since he'd first heard his youngest son speak. What was this feeling? Frank wanted this baby - he needed him. He was just like his son…_

 _"_ _Well, I best be going now. I've left Darrel with Darry, and my other son, Sodapop, and he won't be able to cope for more than two hours with those two," Shannon stated, standing up. "Say bye, Ponyboy."_

 _Frank held his hand up to the baby, and Ponyboy happily grabbed it. The baby liked this man; of course a baby can't explain why, but he just felt comforted. Not like when his mother sat down next to a certain Mr Cade; Mr Cade made Ponyboy cry. But Frank - Frank was nice._

 _"_ _Bye, Ponyboy," Frank chuckled. He didn't want to let go of the baby. But unfortunately Shannon was in a rush to get home and gently pulled Ponyboy's arm away. "I hope I see you again." Nobody was listening, so he was okay._

 _Ponyboy Curtis, huh? Frank would make sure to remember that name. He was different from other babies. He had the same eyes and hair as his youngest son. But his smile…it was perfect. Everything about him was just perfect. And who knew…maybe one day, Ponyboy could be his._

 **XXX**

"Ponyboy, time to wake up, kiddo."

The thirteen-year-old opened his eyes slightly, however when the harsh beams of sun from his window hit his eyes, he immediately squeezed them shut again.

"Five more minutes," Ponyboy grumbled, burying his face in his pillow. Sodapop was sitting up beside him, grinning like crazy. Darry got the message and grinned as well.

"Okay, enjoy your five minutes," the man smiled softly, pretending to leave the room.

Ponyboy exhaled heavily, opening his eyes. Darry never let him sleep in; what was the special occasion? When the boy noticed Sodapop smiling at him however, his tired eyes widened and he frowned.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" the boy asked aggressively, not noticing that Darry was still standing by the door.

"Grouchy guts," Sodapop laughed, poking his little brother in the ribs. Ponyboy scowled but couldn't resist his laughter. And when Darry joined in…well, the frown disappeared, that's for sure.

"Alright, I'm up, I'm up!" Ponyboy shouted after a while, shooting up and rushing to the bathroom. Sodapop chuckled and Darry just shook his head with a big smile on his face; their baby brother was so hard to predict sometimes. One minute he's grouchy as ever, the next he's smiling like there's no tomorrow. And they loved him so much.

Ponyboy showered and brushed his teeth. While Darry prepared breakfast and Soda watched TV, Ponyboy got dressed. Unfortunately for the youngest Curtis, Sodapop had used the last of the hair grease, meaning he couldn't look to his full standard. And since they were tight with money, there'd be no more grease for at least a few days.

"Breakfast's ready," Darry announced, setting three plates down on the dining table. Sodapop flipped the TV off and rushed to the table while Ponyboy trailed out of his bedroom miserably. "What's with the long face, little man?"

"No grease left," Ponyboy mumbled, sitting down next to Sodapop who was stuffing his face with food. "I look stupid."

"No you don't," Darry disagreed. "I think you suit your hair better without it."

Ponyboy just groaned and picked up his knife and fork, wasting no time in eating his breakfast. Why let a perfectly good breakfast go to waste? Especially when his big brother had prepared it for him.

"So, what's the plan for today?" Soda asked his oldest brother, raising his glass to drink some more milk. "Last day before the weekend's over." Both Ponyboy and Sodapop sighed.

"Well, we really need some groceries. How 'bout we head into town later – we can go grocery shopping-" The two younger Curtis's sighed again. "And _then_ we can get some ice-cream, if you lazy kids feel up to it." Darry smiled at his two younger brothers, who were now grinning.

"That sounds like a grand idea, Darry," Sodapop nodded, grinning like crazy.

"Hey, big brothers always know best," Darry smiled, raising his eyebrows at both of his younger brothers. Ponyboy frowned, thinking carefully.

"What about little brothers?" he asked, feeling a bit left out. He'd always be the baby; he'd never have a little brother to boss around. Not that that was a bad thing, but still.

"Well…" Darry started.

"Little brothers are always cute," Soda laughed, poking Ponyboy's nose. Ponyboy scowled.

"You're _Darry's_ little brother, remember," he reminded his older brother. Sodapop nodded and pulled a silly face.

"And I'm _cute_ ," he stated, brushing his blonde hair back. "Ain't that right, Darry?"

Darry shook his head with a smile plastered on his face. "You're both cute. Real cute," he told Ponyboy, who had now gotten settled with his breakfast. The boy flushed a bit but grinned at his eldest brother; today was a good morning, since some mornings he and Darry just argued for no reason. And he hated those mornings.

To say Sodapop was excited was an understatement. He knew a few chicks who hung around the ice-cream place, and he knew he'd just _have_ to get some of their numbers if any of them were cute. Ponyboy was less enthusiastic, trailing around the grocery store but sticking close to the eldest. Darry rubbed his brother's hair as he gazed at the list, wondering where to go next. Meanwhile Sodapop was bouncing up and down the aisles, hitting stray tins of soup of the shelves. The assistants were too bewitched by Sodapop's beauty to say anything.

Of course, that was just an accident waiting to happen, as Sodapop accidentally bounced into an older man. The man was unharmed but he shoved his cart rather sharply in order to stop it from hitting Sodapop, and the cart fell right over. Everything fell out.

"Sodapop!" Darry shouted, grabbing their own cart and pushing it over to Sodapop and the man. Sodapop grinned sheepishly. "You get this picked up now!" Though if Darry had to admit it, he was trying his best not to laugh.

The man's stuff was picked up and placed back into the cart. Ponyboy took note of the man's appearance: he had a good build, had blonde hair that was so dark it was almost brown, and his eyes were the grayest eyes Ponyboy had ever seen.

"Franklin," the man greeted, holding his hand out to Darry. "Frank for short."

"Darrel," Darry smirked, shaking the man's hand. "Darry for short." Frank smirked as well.

Ponyboy poked his head from behind Darry's back; the boy would be lying if he said he wasn't embarrassed at the display that Sodapop had caused. Luckily (and surprisingly) nothing had been damaged.

"Sodapop Curtis," Sodapop shouted in Frank's ear, patting the man on the back. The older man didn't so much as flinch before looking down at Ponyboy. A thought hit him; where had he heard the name Sodapop before? However he shook the thought away, and cocked an eyebrow at the youngest Curtis.

"And who's this?" he asked. Ponyboy considered hiding behind Darry again, but his older brother chuckled.

"This here's Ponyboy," Darry laughed.

Frank froze. Ponyboy…Curtis? The name, the name! He remembered the conversation he had with Shannon Curtis thirteen years before. Ponyboy was the one! The one that Frank had wanted.

And he wanted him now too.

"Oh…" Frank said lowly, grabbing the shopping cart. "I'll see you soon. Thanks for helping me pick up my stuff by the way."

He'd just been in a high school looking for a job about three days before, and he'd seen that boy in one of the pictures. How did Frank not recognize it was Ponyboy?! The man paid for his stuff and left the store. This kid had such a big effect on him. Frank wanted the kid.

And he'd have him eventually.

 **AN: Not sure about this. What do you guys think? I would have uploaded sooner but I was sick on Thursday and Friday :/ I hope ya'll liked it! Should I continue?**


	2. Chapter 1

**I do not own The Outsiders. S.E. Hinton does :)  
I'm so sorry it's taken this long to update guys; I just had some writer's block :(  
On another note, it has been exactly a year since I first published my first story on fanfiction! **

"If you don't eat your ice-cream then I'll eat it for you," Sodapop threatened, eyeing his younger brother's almost full bowl of the sweet vanilla treat. The teenager had already eaten one bowl and was on his second, curtesy of Darry since the oldest Curtis didn't want to 'be out of shape' for work.

"Sodapop, let your brother take his time. I'm sure he'd rather enjoy it, unlike you," Darry smirked. Sodapop frowned.

"What do you mean?" the blonde asked, his mouth filled with ice-cream. Ponyboy grimaced and turned away in disgust, pulling his bowl of ice-cream towards him.

Darry sighed. "You're rushing yours, Soda. Do you even know what it tastes like?"

"Well…it's not my fault ice-cream's so good. I just like to-"

Ponyboy tuned out of the conversation, and absent-mindedly began to mix his spoon in his bowl so the ice-cream began to get rather creamy. The boy was thinking back to the time at the grocery store, where Sodapop had run into that man with the cart. The man didn't seem to like the youngest Curtis that much, the boy gathered. After all, he seemed to want to get away rather quickly after Darry had introduced him.

Why though? Pony hadn't done anything wrong, not that he knew of anyway. He'd been a little shy so he hadn't looked at the man properly and had childishly ducked behind his oldest brother for shelter, though he'd done it before and nobody seemed bothered.

Well, it's not like Pony cared. He'd never see the man again, right?

 **XXX**

"Jenny, I don't know what to do. I really, really don't," Frank said to the picture he was facing. "You know, I'm sure if God didn't want me to have that boy then he wouldn't have showed him to me again. It was like magic, Jenny. It really was."

The light, rosy-cheeked woman in the picture continued to grin. Frank grinned at her; she was so beautiful.

"I mean, it ain't like I wanna replace you and the boys or anythin'. No, no, nothin' like that. But it's been almost fourteen years now, honey, and well…maybe the priest is right. Maybe it's time to move on. That boy, Jenny, he's just like how our Benny was, but he was like Danny too."

Frank picked up the portrait of his wife and two sons, staring at it happily. He kissed Jenny, and then Benny, and then Danny. When Benny hit the age of ten he insisted on being called by his true name: Benjamin, though Frank never complied with his son's wishes. He'd always be his Benny.

"Ponyboy's such a unique name…" Frank whispered, placing the portrait down. He looked towards the sofa, where three, silent people were sitting. Frank gulped. "Time to go away now. I'll talk to you tomorrow," he smiled, looking back towards the picture.

The woman stood up, her baby in her arms, and the boy next to her followed them out of the door. Frank flinched as the front door slammed shut. They'd be back tomorrow.

Oh what was he talking about? They were always there anyway.

The man picked up the portrait once again and turned it over - so the three faces couldn't look at him anymore.

 **XXX**

"So, all your homework's done, right?" Darry asked Ponyboy, who was sitting next to Sodapop watching the TV.

"Yeah," the boy answered tiredly, rubbing his eyes and yawning slightly. Darry smiled.

"Alright, little man, I think it's time for bed now," the man stated.

Ponyboy sat up sharply. "I ain't tired," he claimed, crossing his arms stubbornly and staring at the TV as if it was his job.

Darry sighed. "C'mon now. Brush your teeth and get into bed. I'll tuck you in," he promised, though his voice wasn't playful like before.

The youngest Curtis pouted. Sodapop was rubbing his eyes and slouching on the couch too, yet Darry wasn't hounding at him to go to bed.

"Five more minutes," Ponyboy expressed, not moving from his position.

"Ponyboy," Darry said sternly. He really wasn't playing anymore. Ponyboy growled.

"Alright, alright," he groaned, pulling away from Soda and stomping off to the bathroom in a huff.

Why'd everybody treat him like a kid? It was 9:30, and while he'd always had that bedtime, he knew kids in his grade who didn't even have set bedtimes by their parents! And Soda wasn't even that much older than him!

"He's always cranky when he's tired," Darry sighed, shaking his head.

He hated to be the bad guy, but Pony did have school the next day. Besides, 9:30 wasn't a bad bedtime; 9:30 on school days and 12 on weekends, unless he was going out. Yeah, Darry was being perfectly reasonable. Pony just needed to be reminded who was in-charge.

"I know someone else like that…" Sodapop muttered under his breath.

Ponyboy dragged the toothbrush across his teeth as if his mouth was his enemy. He hated brushing his teeth and wanted to get it out the way as soon as possible. Though it didn't feel so hot when he felt parts of his gums split; no doubt he'd have an ulcer come morning. His mouth was now bleeding but he could've cared less.

The boy made his way to his and Soda's room after saying a quick goodnight to Darry and Sodapop. Undressing rather quickly, Ponyboy climbed into bed, taking his copy of _Gone with the Wind_ off the nightstand and flipping through it. Nobody, except maybe Johnny, would ever understand his love for that book.

"Oh, Scarlett," Ponyboy said softly, reading the book with sheer enthusiasm. He thought back to the movie adaption of the book that he and Johnny had saw together. Man, Vivien Leigh was something else though.

Darry crept in a few minutes after he'd started reading the third chapter. It was a long book, but Ponyboy loved reading, and always hated it when a book had to come to an end. So yeah, this was perfect. Unfortunately Darry had to ruin it by taking the book right out of his hands, placing the bookmark in it (Ponyboy had previously had the bookmark on his lap) and setting the book down on the nightstand.

Ponyboy pouted again. Darry just shook his head and gave his brother a faint smile.

"Night, little man." Darry rubbed his brother's hair and gently kissed him on the forehead before tucking the boy into the covers. Then, very quietly, he walked back out, turning the light off before he left.

The youngest Curtis felt his lip tremble slightly. No doubt by tomorrow he and Darry would be back to arguing, as always. This was why he cherished these moments as much as he could. Too bad Darry couldn't see it that way.

 **XXX**

"We have been running low on English teachers, Mr Howard. I'm so very happy to see how eager you are to join our school."

"I've heard great things about it, sir," Frank smiled.

"I have your schedule right here, along with other important things such as your registers and any other things needed. Feel free to come down to my office at recess or lunch if you need anything. If you can't find me then try the teachers' lounge," Mr Ryans explained.

"Thank you. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Of course, Mr Howard. If I hadn't found you those weeks ago we'd probably be in trouble. I'm just glad you made this decision."

"I am too, sir," Frank smirked.

 _Just one more day. Then he'd see Ponyboy again. His dream…his son._

 **AN: There's the second chapter guys! The next update won't be as long! I'll try and get my other stories updated very quickly too! But you know how school is :) Thanks to everybody who has favorited, followed and reviewed this story so far; I can't thank you all enough :)**


	3. Chapter 2

**I do not own The Outsiders. S.E. Hinton does :)  
Sorry it's taken this long to update – my other stories need updating too. I've just been stuck on ideas for them. I began writing the next chapter for Fading Away on May the 18** **th** **and now it's 6** **th** **June! I'll try my best :)  
Update: after the line "That boy didn't think sometimes" the date is now June 9** **th** **:)**

"Alright, time ta get up," Darry ordered, rapping his knuckles the wooden door. Ponyboy and Sodapop never left their bedroom door locked, but Darry knew that it usually got Ponyboy up when he knocked. The man sighed when he heard his youngest brother grumble and turn over.

"Just a few more minutes," Ponyboy called sleepily. Darry sighed, frowning deeply. He didn't want to holler so early in the morning, but his kid brother sure was frustrating sometimes. The oldest Curtis sometimes wondered if Ponyboy did it on purpose; just to mess with him.

"Ponyboy Michael, I will _not_ tell you again," the man warned in a low voice before going back to the kitchen to finish making breakfast. The usual sounds of the stove and the water from the shower were heard by the man – he hated to think of things personally but he was listening intently to make sure that his littlest brother was indeed getting up. After hearing a few shuffles and groans from the boy's room, Darry decided to stop listening out for him.

Sodapop came rushing into the kitchen dressed in just a white towel (well, close enough to white) with a very damp DX cap in his hand. Darry took his chin away from his cup of hot, relaxing coffee and frowned.

"Ya know where ma DX shirt is, Dar?" the teenager asked, cracking a grin at his eldest brother. Darry smirked but tried his best to hide it; seriously, that kid had some charm about him. Sometimes the man thought it was magic. Though with Soda he wouldn't be surprised; that kid was full of surprises.

"Why don't you check in your closet before askin' me, little buddy?" Darry hinted, turning back to the stove. Sodapop raised his eyebrows before making his way to his and his little brother's room.

Ponyboy shrieked when the door opened. He quickly pulled up his jeans, not liking how his big brother just walked in with no notice whatsoever. Just because they shared a bed and dressed in the same room didn't mean Ponyboy had no modesty!

"Hey, Pony," Soda smiled, oblivious to the embarrassment he'd _almost_ caused to his little brother. The taller teen walked over to his closet, rummaging through it a few times before finding his DX shirt and jeans. Ponyboy's mouth twitched as he watched his older brother; the boy's lack of sleep had caused an obvious crankiness to him today.

"Hey," the boy replied dully, grabbing his comb before strolling out of the room to go to the bathroom. Darry watched his brother from the kitchen and smirked slightly, then frowned; his baby brother always complained about his night-time routine yet when it was morning he didn't want to get out of bed! Kids...who can understand them?

Breakfast on Monday mornings were always the same. Ponyboy was picking at his food as he was too tired to eat it, Soda was babbling nonsense to everyone, and Darry was rushing his breakfast just in-case he happened to lose track of time. By the time Pony was finished eating, Soda was waltzing out the door and Darry was writing a note to stick on the refrigerator for the gang and his brothers.

By the time Ponyboy got to school (he'd hitched a ride from Two-Bit), it was almost 9 o'clock. The boy ran as fast as he could while Two-Bit watched in amusement; that boy didn't think sometimes.

After registration, Ponyboy sloped to his first period: English. The boy liked English a lot, but even he got bored of it when it was first thing in the morning. On top of that, Mr Syme had been told to teach the less-academic students because their current teacher had left on maternity leave, so this meant he'd have a completely different teacher. And nobody could beat Mr Syme.

A blonde-haired man was sitting in Mr Syme's place. Ponyboy immediately recognized him, considering they'd met very recently. The youngest Curtis's jaw dropped open, and he slowly walked to his desk without taking his eyes of Frank.

Frank gasped when he saw the boy. His boy. Oh, how Frank wanted to just run over to the kid and sweep him up and run away with him! Is this what Danny would have looked like if he had survived the crash and grew up?!

"Did Mr Syme inform about our studies before he left this academic group, sir?"

Everyone groaned. Leave it to Ruth O'Connor to bring up work before the guy had even introduced himself. Ponyboy could admit to being set on his studies, but that girl took it too far sometimes.

Marcia, one of the socs who was supposed to be in the grade above but got moved down, stared at the girl drowsily. "What does _inform_ mean?"

Ponyboy smirked. That stuck-up soc, Cherry, sure picked strange friends to be in her 'clique'.

"We can continue this discussion another time," Frank smiled, finally standing up. He tried to avoid contact with Ponyboy, as he guessed that the boy remembered him, and he'd probably get creeped out if he saw the teacher staring at him. The guy wanted to win the kid's affection; not scare him away! "My name is Mr Howard. I'll be takin' ya'll for a while I assume."

"Sir," Marcia drawled. "Where'd Mr Syme go? Is he dead?"

Everybody giggled. Frank sighed. "No, he's next door if you wanna see 'im." The man wanted to add 'where you belong' but though better of it; he guessed the rich kids (since the brunette chick sure looked wealthy) were put in the good classes due to their parents 'deals'.

"Can I go see 'im?" one of the guys asked, trying to be funny. He earned a few laughs.

" _Anyway_ ," Frank interrupted, giving the class a no-nonsense look. "Today we're gonna be studyin' poetry. I believe ya'll we're studyin' 'Hope is the thing with Feathers' on Friday but didn't get time to finish your analysis?" Some of the class nodded, and some disagreed. Ruth O'Connor hitched her glasses up her nose and told Mr Howard in a very raspy voice but they had been. Frank took her word.

Ponyboy pulled out his copy of the poem, along with the notes he'd made on it. Frank smiled. This would be a great excuse to talk to Ponyboy.

"Ah, Ponyboy, I believe we met the other day," Frank said. Ponyboy blushed as kids began turning around to look at him. "Could you please give me your analysis for any line of the poem you wish?"

The youngest Curtis flushed. "Uh, well, in the first line, the poet uses a, uh…metaphor to describe 'hope' as bird. The feathers have been used to emphasize the…hope?"

It wasn't that Ponyboy didn't have pages of notes on the poem. He certainly did. But he didn't feel too hot about being put on the spot by someone he'd just met, and they had definitely had a rather awkward first encounter at that!

Being one of the only greasers, and the youngest in his class by a year (some even close to two years!) had its downfalls. Nearly everybody burst into overdramatic laughter, making the young boy turned red.

"Hey, hey, that's enough," Frank reprimanded not too kindly. Everybody calmed down.

"Yeah, focus on your work. Though his analysis wasn't fully explained, Ponyboy made a good point 'bout the metaphor," Ruth chimed, smiling at Ponyboy and combing her black, curly hair back with her hand.

The boy wasn't very grateful for her defence, and put his arms on the table before burying his head in them. Frank frowned, but he'd speak to him later.

"Okay, I'd like everybody to write two paragraphs focusing from a language point of view of the poem, such as metaphors," Frank stated firmly. Everybody groaned, but sat up when Frank eyed them all. Ponyboy still had his face hidden.

"How may lines does a paragraph have?" Marcia asked, rather confused.

"Mr Howard," Ruth hissed, rolling her eyes, seeing as he seemed rather distracted on what to say to Marcia. "Could I _please_ do a page?"

Frank sighed. "Kids, just do whatever pleases you, as long as it has at least two paragraphs. Brunette with short hair, about six- ta seven lines."

All of the guys looked at each other, taking this as a sign that they could do literally what they wanted. Frank slowly approached Ponyboy, and when he got to his space, he gently tapped the young boy on his shoulder.

"Ponyboy," the man murmured. "Would you like ta go outside?"

Ponyboy shook his head, still silent. Frank nodded. "Okay," he said softly. Then he walked away, but of course still had thoughts about the kid who he wanted as his. They lingered in his mind as he sat down and looked out to see if anyone needed help. Some boys were goofing off so he needed to give them some warnings, and Marcia claimed she'd rather study _Romeo and Juliet_ rather than 'a bunch of words that just rhymed and made no sense', and a few students needed help finding their copies of the poems and their notes, but that was about it.

After a while, Ponyboy stopped sulking and got to doing his work, but he still looked rather upset. Frank just sat there, wondering what to do. Maybe it would be harder than he thought to win over his 'son'.

 **AN: So sorry for the late update – just been really stuck on ideas with all my stories. I'll be away from Saturday – Monday so I wanna get my stories updated tomorrow. Hope you enjoyed! Suggestions and feedback are appreciated. And thank you to everybody who has favorited, followed and reviewed this story; I can't thank you all enough :)**


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